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15 Ways to Save Money On Your Cell Phone Bill

Cell phones. You just can’t seem to get away from them nowadays. It seems that just about everyone in America has a cell phone. In fact, my wife and I use cell phones and Skype as our main form of communication. We just don’t have the need for a land line, and not having one saves us about $20 per month.

But cell phone bills can be confusing to understand, and often times cost way more than they should! These tips can help you reduce your cell phone bill so you have more money to do the important things in life.

Top 15 Ways to Reduce Your Cell Phone Bill

1. Mind Your Data Limit

Choose the lowest Data option available for your carrier and make sure to stay within your limits. You can do this by keeping your phone on a Wi-fi service at home, work and in public settings that offer free wi-fi connection. Most businesses offer free Wi-fi while you are shopping or eating, you just have to check your available connections. Now if you are on your phone constantly for work, then I would recommend opting into the unlimited data package, as that would be more cost effective than accidentally going over your data usage for the month and racking up overage fees. So keep up with your data usage for a month or two and see how you would do with lowering your plan. You can still get an unlimited data plan through T-Mobile and Sprint.

2. To Text, Or Not To Text… That Is The Question

Most people send or receive at least a few text messages per month. At $0.10 – $0.15 per text, it can add up quickly. Most cell phone companies offer unlimited text plans for anywhere from $5 – $10 per month. Look at your last few cell phone bills. If the number of texts you send or receive covers the cost of unlimited texts, then pay for unlimited texts. Otherwise, drop unlimited texts and pay as you go or request the cell phone company block texts messages to your cell phone to avoid paying for any text messages.

3. Drop the Insurance

If you have a new smartphone or other expensive phone, insurance may be worth it – but probably only for a few months to a year. After that, you can easily replace the phone by signing a new contract and buying a new phone at a discounted price. So after that time frame, drop the insurance, at $3-5 per month, it adds up quickly! Over the course of your contract,you probably paid enough in insurance costs to buy a new phone.

4. Drop Roadside Assistance

Here’s another $3-5 per month that you can get away without paying. Many auto insurance plans offer it for less than cell phone companies do, or you may even already have it in your plan. Why pay for something twice?

5. Consider Using a Prepaid Cell Phone

I had a pay as you go cell phone when I lived in England. For me, it was the best option. Now, I have a smart phone and data plan, and a prepaid phone just wouldn’t cut it. But for many people, it is a great option. If you only make occasional calls from your cell phone, then you could end up saving yourself a good bit of money each month going Prepaid, so you should definitely consider changing your cell phone plan. One great benefit to a prepaid plan is NO CONTRACT! Along with other benefits of course such as more flexibility and lower costs. Virgin Mobile and Cricket Wireless are great for those using on average about 2-3 GB of data monthly. You can also check out T-Mobile’s Pay As You Go Plan, AT&T GoPhones or pay as you go plans with TracFone.

6. Combine or Drop Lines

Family plans are a great way to save money on your cell phone bill. You can often get an add-on line for about $10 per line for shared minutes. This is much less expensive than paying full price for a new line. You can even share a family plan among friends if you are willing to agree to a contract and have a strong enough friendship to deal with any contract or payment issues that may pop up. Consider dropping unnecessary lines as well.

7. Take Advantage of Employee Discounts

All of the major carriers offer discounts to the employees of companies that take out corporate accounts. The corporate account will have to have a minimum number of lines to get the employee discount (usually five), but the threshold is very low with all the carriers. The larger the corporate account, the better the discount the employees will receive.These discounts are often available to any member of the company, regardless of whether or not your company picks up the tab and whether or not you are full time. Expect to save anywhere from 5% – 30% off your total cell phone bill. It never hurts to ask around for those discounts!

8. Double Check Your Invoice!

Cell phone invoices can be confusing, but it is important to understand them and what each charge is. Some of the charges are not required by the government, even though they have “official” sounding names. Some of these include regulatory cost recovery, Federal Universal Service, E-9-1-1, or number portability. These are put in place by the cell phone companies to recover their costs.A great way to double check your invoice is to use Validas, which analyzes your invoice for errors or ways to reduce your bill. The Validas service will make recommendations based on your plan and usage that can take care of several of the tips in this article in one fell swoop. Validas is also currently offering a free trial of their service.

9. Use Free Directory Assistance

Calling 411 information service from your cell phone can cost a dollar or more. So why not get the same info for free? Try using Free411by calling 1-800-free411.

10. Avoid Costly Extras

Ringtones, games, mP3’s, GPS service, and streaming videos are not only unnecessary, they are extremely costly as well. $1.99 doesn’t seem like much until you add about 20 of those together. Some of the ringtone and text services cost $10 or more per month. Your best bet is to stay away!

11. Use a Land Line for Local Calls

If you are near a land line, pick up the phone extension instead of using your mobile phone. It will save you a few of your plan’s minutes. I wouldn’t recommend doing this from work because some companies have policies against personal phone use.Just a note… I only have a cell phone, so whenever someone calls me long distance from a landline, I always call them right back. My long distance is unlimited and I never use all my minutes. Hopefully I can save them a few bucks! 🙂

13. Roaming Charges & Data Roaming Charges

Beware of roaming charges! These can add up quickly! Double check your service plan and be familiar with your local area. If you have a nationwide plan (which is the only way to go in my opinion!), you still might receive roaming charges if you frequently use your cell phone where your provider doesn’t have any towers. It’s best to be aware of your situation to avoid these charges!

14. Out of Contract? Negotiate a Lower Rate or Shop For a New Plan

Cell phone companies love it when you are in a contract because you are basically at their mercy. Once you are out of your contract you are free to go to another carrier. So shop around. If you find a better deal but prefer your current carrier, negotiate a lower rate. You may have to enter into a new contract, but you may be able to save a few bucks every month. You may also be able to get a great deal on a new cell phone. T-Mobile is currently offering some great deals on their individual and family cell phone plans, and here are special AT&T Wireless offers.

10 Minutes Can Save You Money Every Month

None of these tips are difficult to pull off, and in most cases will take about 10 minutes or less. And the savings you achieve should make it well worth your time. So start looking over your cell phone usage today and save yourself some money each month!

About Ryan Guina

Ryan Guina is the founder and editor of Cash Money Life. He is a writer, small business owner, and entrepreneur. He served over 6 years on active duty in the USAF and is a current member of the IL Air National Guard.

Ryan started Cash Money Life in 2007 after separating from active duty military service and has been writing about financial, small business, and military benefits topics since then. He also writes about military money topics and military and veterans benefits at The Military Wallet.

Ryan uses Personal Capital to track and manage his track his finances. Personal Capital is a free software program that allows him to track his net worth, balance his investment portfolio, track his income and expenses, and much more. You can open a free account here.

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Comments

Ryansays

Ron, there are unlimited text plans that usually start at around $10 per month, but I’m not sure how much they cost for a family plan. That may be a great way to avoid high text message bills. Or, you could make them pay for their own texts out of their allowance. (you can also block texts, but that would be a very unpopular action!).

Data is a tricky situation. Some data plans are extremely expensive. You may consider getting them a phone that doesn’t have data capability (i.e. no e-mail, or streaming video capability). Most people don’t really need that, especially teens. I didn’t need it until my website became more popular and I needed access to my site e-mail account wherever I may be.

You could also consider getting each family member a phone on the Sprint SERO plan, but each line is $30 and there are no family plans. However, it comes with unlimited data and texts, so you wouldn’t have to worry about over charges.

There are a lot of options… I wish you and your family the best on this one! 😉

Ryan it’s true, the data is a tricky situation, you don’t want to get your teens a phone that will charge if they go over their data plan. Most prepaids will be a solution, because they won’t go over, but it may not be enought for them. If you are willing to go a little over budget and pay a bit more, Straight Talk has an unlimited plan that inlcudes unlimited data for $45 a month, and also no contracts.

This is a great list, one that I need to incorporate in MY family. My cell phone is issued by my company and they don’t care what I use if for. But my wife’s phone isn’t and we are considering dropping our land line.

Where I need some advice is in the “add a teenager” to your cell phone account. I have two teenage girls (14 and 13) who don’t have one yet. All I ever hear is, “I’m the ONLY one in my class that doesn’t have a cell phone.” I tell them I was 34 before I had my first cell phone…they don’t think that’s funny.

I’ve heard horror stories about $750 bills, texting at 3am, and unreal data charges. I’m not sure what we should do. My wife is about to start back to work and I DO think the girls need a phone, but I just don’t want to be socked with a bill that is higher than my mortgage payment.

Oh ron… I hear you… teens can be dangerouns with a cellphone that is not expense controlled. Really I’m not surprised with the $750 bill horror story. I got my teen son, he is 13 a Straight talk because it’s a pay as you go and there are no surprises there, it’s a great start up phone and you will sleep at night cos they can never go over their minutes, plus if you are feeling generous you can get them a $30 a month plan with 1000 text and 1000 minutes or an unlimited plan for only $45, it’s a bit more but you will avoid lots of headaches.

Excellent tips! We have stripped away just about all the bells and whistles we possibly can and I still get ill when the cell bill arrives. It just seems to be one of the costliest things I pay for every month when you look at the actual usage.

Great post. We’re considering our cell phone options now as out 2-year contract with Verizon has expired and our phones are starting to get beat up. I’ve been looking into the SERO program that you mentioned. I don’t think they offer free texts anymore but it still looks like a great deal.

I only have a cell phone and ditched the land line LONG ago. I got an unlimited texting plan with TMobile (which they have stopped now..sorry) for $5!!! My boyfriend and I have a family plan and get 700 daytime minutes plus unlimited texting and nights and weekends. Most of our friends have TMobile so we always stay under our minutes. We also use Grand Central and Skype to make and receive phone calls so our plan works for two of us for $70 a month plus tax.

Excellent list. I am curious to your experience with Sprint SERO thus far. I considered dropping our Verizon contract to switch, but ended up deciding against it for now. We’ve loved Verizon thus far. I know Sprint has been having customers leave in droves due to billing errors and general poor customer service. What has your experience been thus far?

@Ron: Whatever plan you sign up for, at least with Verizon, you can block access to just about everything. You could give them unlimited texting for a certain amount per month, and then call customer service to block their data access, block access to downloading programs (a big issue for some teens, and it can cost money), block access to just about anything.

Even at $30/person, SERO would probably be a good option for us. That or pay as you go. Our phones will be coming up for renewal in November. Wow. We got them the November before our wedding and now it’s only 8 months until 2 years. Crazy.

@ Dividend Growth Investor, Thanks for the info on the Sprint plan. I never come close to using all my minutes, but this may be a helpful plan for others! 🙂

@ No Debt Plan, I love the SERO plan so far. After taxes and fees, I pay about $35. This includes the unlimited data plan (which I love!), unlimited texts, nights & weekends, and mobile to mobile minutes, 500 anytime minutes, and good coverage in my local area. I had Verizon before Sprint, and I loved their coverage and customer service, but the Sprint plan was just too good to pass up. I think Sprint does have awful customer service, but I was willing to deal with that to get the plan I wanted. (I rarely call customer service for anything). Great tip for Ron, by the way. 🙂

@ lulugal11, I haven’t had a land line in about 8 years. I just haven’t needed one.

@ deepali, Thanks for sharing the link. That looks like a good source for kid’s cell phones.

All in all, cut down on those extra features that you do not need at all. Also talk to your company or boss and try to see if any wireless services offer any deals to your company employees. I got in on a deal that saves me around $20 a month compared to the same features off a non employment plan.

Oh, don’t lose your cellphone. It’s extremely expensive to replace unless you buy a second hand one and usually that’s a huge downgrade from the phone you had. Even the free phones start at $100 without a plan.

I have Sprint and get a discount through my employer, which I love. I had to call Sprint once because I got charged a roaming fee in my own city! I was pretty unhappy that that happened, but the CSR reversed the charge immediately with no hassles. That’s been my best and worst experience with Sprint 🙂

Save money on cellular long distance!… I am now using YapOn for all my long distance calling. I use it on my cellular as well as my landline. Not only is it a reliable, high quality phone service, it is really easy to use and saving me a LOT on money! I can even call my friends and relatives who are overseas with my cell phone for pennies. There are no connection fees, hidden OR monthly fees, I get everything I pay for! And without having to change my cell phone provider or rate plan!

For any real bargain hunters out there, I strongly recommend STI Mobile. It is a pre-paid service with no frills… but it is worth it. I pay $0.12/min, or $0.10/min night and weekends, plus a $0.10 daily access fee.

The service is fantastic, and it can be supplemented with data/text options. I text for $0.05 each. I use around 120 min/month, with about 250 messages in and out, and I pay around $22/month… and NO TAX.

This is indeed a great list, it does need a little update. I’m not sure I know what the STI mobile is, but I see the values you are talking about, isn’t that net10? they have a 10cents a minute nationwide. Also now lots of prepaids are offering plans, unlimited minutes for $50, that’s a great deal and a money saver!

Option # 5 is the best advice I can give. I recently switched to a “prepaid plan” and I love it! Since I am a college student, using a prepaid cell phone relieves plenty of stress because I spend less money on cell phones and more money on the essentials. I only pay for this minutes I need, can text, and can even make long distance calls (without an extra charge) to my family back home. I would highly recommend switching to anyone who needs to cut their bills.

A prepaid phone can also reduce your costs. Each call is more expensive, but in the long run it could save money. Prepaid phones are great for kids who are in the ‘are they old enough for their own phone stage?’ A family with three kids could share one prepaid phone for when the kids go out.

I did just that recently, and am saving about 20 bucks off my cell phone expenses every month. I used to be on a medium usage package which had no texting included. Now I use Straight Talk unlimited for 45 bucks. Unlimited talk and texting so I don’t have to worry about overages anymore. Also, it’s on Verizon’s network which seems to work much better in my area.

I had Verizon for about 2 years, but then came across a great deal with Sprint, so I switched over. I was a little hesitant to make the move because of horror stories I’ve heard about Sprint, but I haven’t had any problems.

I saved a lot of money be actually looking at my cell phone bill for changes. I usually just toss the bill aside since I pay it through automatic bank account deductions, but actually reading it every month has helped me catch several errors that could have cost me a lot.

Thanks, Julia. Be sure to check out the articles I linked to at the end about how you can cancel or transfer your contract without fees. It may not apply in all instances, but you find something to work for your situation. 🙂

Ah I just remembered one more tip. This website http://www.myvalidas.com/ will allow you to upload your phone bill and it will analyze it for trends in which you are paying more than you should be. It will also compare your bill and usage with other carriers. If prepaid isnt for you, give them a shot and see if they can show you how to lower your bill. A great service, and I think its still free for the initial report.

I’ve saved a lot by switching to prepaid too, but I found other advantages with Net10. It has a fantastic flat international rate. I pay only 15 cents a minute for calls to the UK and a whole lot of other countries. I came upon another nice surprise after I’d had my Net10 phone for a while. 411 calls are the same price as a local call which is a flat 10 cents a minute to anywhere in the nation.

Thats great. Net10 is actually run by the same company as Tracfone, which is the prepaid provider I use. They are very similar with slight differenses here and there.

The main thing is one will be better based on particular usage data. For me, Tracfone was the better choice, but someone making international calls, or more calls per month would be better off going with Net10.

I use StraightTalk, and for an unlimited plan it’s only $45 a month. Compared to $69.99 for Sprint, that’s a great way to save money every month. Also the coverage is awesome, mainly because it’s carried on the Verizon network.

I’ve got a Motorola phone from tracfone. With service from as little as $7 a month for the minimal contact needed to be in touch and the Double minutes feature gives you 120 minutes for under $20 for 3 months. I save a huge amount of cash. I love my tracfone

I have traveled to the UK many times and have always used my cell phone. Every time I come back I regret having used it. On my last trip to London I rented a Smartphone with Fonmigo. I paid local rates and it came with a free Internet package. I recommend it.

You’re totally right. Cell phone companies are evil. They gouge their customers without regard for economic hardships. Break the shackles!!!! Go to pre-paid. StraighTalk from Walmart, Best Buy or Target will give you the nationwide coverage of Verizon’s network for only $45 a month with UNLIMITED talk, text and 3G Data. Plus, there are several excellent phones to chose from including the screen touch smart phone Finesse. No contracts, No hidden fees. $540 a month plus the one time phone fee. Nobody can beat StraighTalk.

The above poster mentioned cell phone companies being evil and I totally agree – that’s why I switched over to prepaid. I left my contract carrier over a year ago and went with Net10 prepaid and I’m finally able to cope with my cell phone bill. Without a contract, I have the flexibilty to change phones and plans based on use and price and not be locked in. The calling network is pretty dependable and while the selection of phones isn’t the best, it is better priced than any I’ve found. The best thing about Net10 though is the incredible savings – more than $70 a month for me and all I had to do was limit my talking. Net10 is a great option for the moderate talker who needs dependable service.

I use Straight Talk too and love it. (btw, contrary to what another commenter said, it’s only available at Walmart and not the other stores, though you can get it online from Straight Talk’s website, too.)

I have the E71 which runs off AT&T’s towers and it’s a true smart phone. With unlimited everything for $45, it’s a crazy good deal, seriously. I cannot recommend it enough!

number 5 is the most important one. I switched to a prepaid phone and for only 50 bucks a month I have unlimited talk, text, and data. Why waste your energy trying to only call at certain times, or counting your texts. With this company everything is included in the amazing price, plus you can change the plan month to month, and the service uses both Verizon and At&t, depending on where you live, which is awesome

I hate having to constantly check how many minutes or texts I’ve used up for the month and finally upgraded to an unlimited plan. It’s $45 a month pay as you go plan for unlimited everything…what a bargain. My husband also has ST now but unlike me, unlimited would be excessive for him so he opted for the 1000min/text for $30. We’re both very happy with our choices 🙂

I recently made the switch to StraightTalk and must say, it’s pretty awesome. Paying $45 for unlimited talk/text with a reliable service is an unbelievable. deal. I was a little hesitant at first buying a cell phone from Wal-Mart but boy am I ever so glad i did it!

Megan, I’m really interested in the prepaid plan you mentioned. I’m guessing by ST you mean straight talk, which I’ve heard mentioned on a few other blogs here and there as a wonderful. cheap alternative to the evils of contract phone plans. I’ve been thinking about switching, but I’ve been worried about service and phone selection (I’m kind of attached at the hip to my blackberry) but then again I’ve read that service is just as good or better and there are comparable phone options. Any further advice?

my contract is up with Verizon in June.. I just got a great deal on a blackberry..love it. I too, have tossed and turned about changing phone carriers. Verizon does have good coverage, and i was leaning towards straight talk,but leary.. i am on the Oregon coast,and their coverage map doesn’t seem to have a wide area of coverage.. I am to retire end of April so wanting to cut costs. suggestions? i had tracfone for 7 yrs and its a very good carrier. My husband uses one. the issue i have is i text more than calling.ideas? thanks..

To Cheryl, my cell carrier is Straight Talk. But I’m sure Tracfone is also with the same carriers as Straight Talk,so if your husband uses Tracfone and it works for him, then Straight Talk should work fine too. And yes,you would have to buy one of their phones,but if you happen to make international calls for business or keep in touch with family or friends Straight Talk now has International calling available to anyone regardless of your carrier-at much lower cost! Check out the web site for prices. Best of luck,don’t think you will regret choosing Straight Talk,specially with their $45 Unlimited Plan.

For those concerned about texting – my 10 year old daughter uses her Ipod Imessage feature to text anyone with a phone number or email that she has. Also, she uses an app called Kik which allows her to text her friends with a Kik account. She uses her Skype app to stay in contact with her sister in Australia or her Facetime account. Her innovation costs me zero dollars!

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Editorial Disclosure: This content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.